1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a network print function to perform a print process in response to a print request from a terminal device connected thereto via a network, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of the conventional image forming apparatuses each have a network print function to perform a print process in response to a print request from an equipment connected to a network. In the above image forming apparatus, print requests from the equipments on the network print are spooled as jobs (print jobs) in a job database. Further, the network print process includes normal and private print processes.
The normal print process is performed by causing a printer which has received a request of the normal print process to sequentially perform print processes. Therefore, there occurs a possibility that the user forgets to take away the print result or erroneously takes away the print result of the other user.
On the other hand, the private print process is performed by causing the user who has requested the private print process by use of the terminal equipment to go to the installation place of the printer and directly instruct the printer to start the private print process. Therefore, in the private print process, the degree of security of the print result can be enhanced by the presence of the user near the printer while the private print process is being performed.
The technique similar to that of the private print is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. H9-292802. In Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. H9-292802, the copy operation (the copying process in a password mode) by the operation of the user (the user of the password mode) recognized by use of the password is described. In Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. H9-292802, the technique of inhibiting a user other than the user of the password mode from performing the copying operation in the password mode and re-starting the copying operation in response to re-input of a password code by the user of the password mode when the copying operation is interrupted is described.